Resolve to get involved at the Naper Settlement Volunteer Open House

Linda Rodemaker, right, and her granddaughter, Emma Nolten, are both volunteers at Naper Settlement. The Naper Settlement Volunteer Open House will be held Jan. 25.

Linda Rodemaker, right, and her granddaughter, Emma Nolten, are both volunteers at Naper Settlement. The Naper Settlement Volunteer Open House will be held Jan. 25. (Posted By Naper Settlement, Community Contributor)

If you resolved to get involved as a community volunteer in 2014, plan to attend Naper Settlement’s Volunteer Open House from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25 at the Meeting House, located on the northwest corner of Webster Street and Porter Avenue in Naperville.

“Naper Settlement volunteers are role models in our community, donating their time, energy and talent,” said Director of Organizational Resources Josh Chartier. “Our volunteers are truly the heart and soul of Naper Settlement.”

Adults, teens, and young people and their parents in fourth through eighth grades are invited to attend and learn more about volunteer roles at Naper Settlement. Experiences include leading visitor tours, documenting and archiving objects in the museum collection, maintaining plants and vegetables in interpretive gardens, assisting with fundraising initiatives, and supporting special events. Period costumes are not required, but are optional in some volunteer roles.

Last year, Linda Rodemaker attended the volunteer information meeting and became a costumed volunteer at the Martin Mitchell Mansion, which was built in 1883 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. With a background in community theater, she enjoyed wearing Victorian-style clothing and taking visitors on tours of the two-story home.

“I like sharing the history of the house with visitors and learning about their own experiences and family history,” Rodemaker said.

Her granddaughter, Emma Nolten, also volunteered as a Junior on the Green during the summer, where she dressed in period clothing, learned about the Victorian era, played games and talked to visitors about what life was like for children in that era. They both look forward to volunteering in 2014 at Naper Settlement.

“There were Saturdays when I would finish up at the mansion and Emma would be near the Paw Paw House. Emma would teach me how to play Skittles, which I had only read about in novels. It’s been fun,” Rodemaker said.

Parents of children in grades 4-5 who want to learn more about the Junior Volunteer program must attend one informational meeting, either from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 1 or from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 6.

For more information, call (630) 420-6010 or visit napersettlement.com.